The present disclosure relates to integrated circuit chips, and more specifically, to method and system to protect an integrated circuit in the presence of radiation particle events.
Ionizing radiation can cause single event upsets (SEUs) in microprocessors. High-energy radiation particles that impact atoms in an active area of an integrated circuit chip can destroy information or lead to incorrect operation. Ionizing radiation can directly upset storage circuits, such as SRAMs, register files, and latches. Moreover, radiation events in combinational logic create voltage glitches that can be latched. SEUs may cause the processor to perform incorrect or illegal operations. Methods to protect against SEUs include adding spatial and/or temporal redundancy, so that a single radiation event cannot cause an SEU. Redundancy solutions incur area, power, and performance penalties.